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XM5 BUFDAC portable amp released.

post #1 of 23
1/10/08 at 4:44pm
Thread Starter 
A heads-up: Practical Devices finally released the XM5.

Arguably the most stuff ever squeezed into a portable.

More details to follow.

Details & Specs: Practical Devices Corporation
Pictures: XM5 Picture Gallery

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post #2 of 23
1/10/08 at 5:42pm
Is it USB1.1 or 2.0?
I saw in the manual, you state it is USB2.0 compliant, you also state the sample rate is 44.1/48kHz
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post #3 of 23
1/11/08 at 12:38am
Thread Starter 
The XM5 operates as a Full Speed device (12Mbit/s). Full Speed is part of both USB1.1 and USB2.0 specs, so it'll work the same on 1.1 as 2.0. Two-channel audio doesn't come close to saturating 12Mbits of bus speed.
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post #4 of 23
1/11/08 at 12:51am
Interesting. So what battery does it come with and does it include the charger? What dac does it use?
What is the run time?
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post #5 of 23
1/11/08 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
1-hour Lithium-Ion charger is $25 extra; Dac is a CM102A; Runtime for the base model is about 40 hours with the Lithium-Ion.

There are specs at: http://www.practicaldevices.com/xm5/xm5_specs.htm
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post #6 of 23
1/11/08 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamato8 View Post
Interesting. So what battery does it come with and does it include the charger? What dac does it use?
What is the run time?
Hum. Several of these questions can be answered by following the links in post #1 to the Practical Devices Web site. There's a huge amount of information there.
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post #7 of 23
1/11/08 at 6:56pm
if it is USB2.0, the sample rate can be 24bit/96kHz. This is the biggest difference. I am still seekinga USB2.0 DAC.
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post #8 of 23
1/11/08 at 7:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DennyL View Post
Hum. Several of these questions can be answered by following the links in post #1 to the Practical Devices Web site. There's a huge amount of information there.
I went there but it wasn't clear to me if the unit comes with a battery and charger. So if it doesn't come with a battery I guess a 9 volt is what is used and is there something different about the charger?
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post #9 of 23
1/11/08 at 7:27pm
Forget it.
My questions were to hard for you to answer I guess...

Thx
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post #10 of 23
1/11/08 at 7:36pm
I'll be reviewing this in February, against the HeadRoom 2006 Total Bithead, RSA Predator, and HeadAmp Pico.

If I'm lucky I might be able to procure even more DAC/amp products to stack up against...
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post #11 of 23
1/11/08 at 7:43pm
Looks like a nice amp!
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post #12 of 23
1/11/08 at 11:06pm
Ok, I have read over the information. Very impressive.

Does it have an internal charging circuit? I am still not clear on the lithium and charger you can buy. Can any charger work if the correct voltage and minimum mA and will it run from an exterior power source like a charger/wall wart?

I also find it interesting that rather than smd most of the resistors and caps are lead type, which would seem to entail more time/labor.

Many options with the amp/dac.
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post #13 of 23
1/11/08 at 11:28pm
Thread Starter 
The charging circuit is in the AC adapter. So the options are:

1) Alkaline battery, with no external AC adapter, or,
2) Lithium-Ion battery, with PracticalDevices AC adapter (it is matched to the battery, so you can't just use any wallwart). This is $25USD, which is pretty well at our cost.
3) No battery, and any wallwart less than 15V.

Option2 is the easiest IMHO, since recharge only takes an hour, you can use it while it's plugged in, and you can leave it plugged in indefinitely.

Option3 might be suitable for the hardcore modder, who uses some exotic amp or buffer chips which need alot of headroom.
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post #14 of 23
1/11/08 at 11:46pm
Great, sounds like some very good options and yes you are right the price for the charger and battery is very good.
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post #15 of 23
1/12/08 at 12:03am
I was stunned by this, just curious about the dac chip and tolerance of parts used.

Pls use the same allen screw as with XM4
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